Patent An Idea

Ideas are a prelude to invention. Do you know that eleven year old Frank Epperson, left a stirring stick in a soda on the porch overnight and woke up to a frozen "Popsicle". He patented the idea when he grew up and developed & marketed it most successfully.

How can you invent if you do not have an idea? According to current patent rules you cannot patent a law of nature, physical phenomena or abstract idea. Also your idea must not be creative like literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work. These can be copyright protected but not patented. In order to be patentable your idea must be concrete.

Confused?

Well, its like this. If you have an idea of…. lets say, a new bottle spray… you cannot patent the idea, but you can patent the bottle design or spray apparatus .

So, got a great idea! Well, conceptualize it fast. You cannot patent an idea, but you can patent the concrete expression of an idea.

Of course, to patent your idea you need to be sure that your idea fulfills the three fold criteria of: ‘novel’, ‘non-obvious’ and ‘useful’.

Why patent an idea?

You’ve worked hard at your idea- and you enjoyed your work but the bottom line is that you are developing products to try to make money. Therefore, it's very important that you patent your idea. Your patent is a legal document giving you the monopoly on your product. You can't do much without it; you certainly can't sell your invention. Most manufacturers or potential buyers/licensers won't even see you if you do not have one, or at least have applied for it.

Who can patent an idea?

Only the inventor can apply to patent an idea. There are some exceptions -- if the inventor is dead, insane or refuses to file and is under contract to others. Sometimes, an invention needs technical help from other fields. In such a case if that object reflects the ‘inventiveness’ on the part of the technical help, then the technical help may be designated as co-partner in patent. But its best to check from your lawyer, as there is a very fine dividing line.

How can you patent an idea?

Before you start on an invention, its good to check if your idea is original. Believe it or not most good ideas have already been thought out by others. So, there is a chance that your idea has already been patented. For this you need to conduct a preliminary search. You can do a preliminary search by yourself or use a patent attorney, agent or searcher. If during searches you do come across your idea, don’t be disappointed. It means there could be an existing market for your product. Lizzie Magie patented "The Landlord Game" in 1904. Charles Darrow played the game and improved it with a new version called "Monopoly." Many patents are improvements to existing patents. In this case, the owner of the new patent must obtain a licensing agreement with the owner of the existing patent. The owner of the old patent would have to get a license from the owner of the new patent in order to use the improvement. Or still, you can improve upon the idea till it looks like a new one.

Once your search is completed you can apply for a patent. You can hire a patent attorney to apply for your patent. A part of a patent attorney's job is to give your product maximum protection against infringement, copying, and theft. If anyone attempted to steal your idea and patent it him/herself, you'd be protected because you applied first.

Tips to patent an idea

Before disclosing your idea to any person, sign a confidentiality agreement with that person.

Apply for a provisional patent.. till you get a patent. That way you have claim to inventing the article first.

To the best of your ability, decide if your invention is not offensive to public morality. If it is intended for only illegal purposes it will fall into this category.

Happy Thinking!